Comparative History Of Ideas

Check out our Summer 2026 offerings!

Tomorrow is Husky Giving Day! CHID is always doing the most to improve the quality of our education and support so students can have the best college experience possible. Please help us reach our goal by donating if you can:

https://together.uw.edu/i/hgd/Campaign/department-of-comparative-history-of-ideas?refGuid=3bb6786f-49b6-4fd8-a308-40bc682afea2&refName=College%20of%20Arts%20%26%20Sciences

Hello CHID community,

Dr. Anu here. I'm faculty in CHID & English. I often teach CHID 260 Rethinking Diversity, and focus my work on racial equity, intersectionality and belonging. For 20 years I've led many UW study abroad programs. I'm also the author of Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World. I'm writing to share our upcoming program to Ghana this Aug-Sept! 🇬🇭

My brilliant co-director Dr. Eric Opoku Agyemang and I (cute picture of us below!) warmly invite you to consider joining us on this unique experience.

This is a program that prioritizes care, connection, community and conversation all while learning about the history, culture and people of Ghana and West Africa in a supportive environment. We partner with the local community on various projects, and ask ourselves powerful questions like what help means, how we genuinely partner with others across inequity, what good intentions are and how complicated they might feel to us in an unequal world. You can read more about the program here.

We will be holding an upcoming virtual information session:
Wednesday Feb 25th, 11:30am-12:30pm

Zoom link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/8261550894

Please join us at the info session, apply and do tell your friends about this program! We are looking for a few more wonderful participants. Might that be you?

with best wishes,
program co-directors Dr. Anu & Dr. Eric

Take a look at our Spring 2026 course offerings!

Stop by The CHID Closet on Thursdays from 10a - 3p, located in the CHID Office in PDL B-102. We have some coats, some shirts, and whatever else is in a closet. Always free!

Also, we have a loudspeaker (pictured) that's up for dibs. If you want it, stop by the CHID office on a Thursday and take it! It'll be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

CHID Scholarship Applications open! Due Feb. 10th (more info below)!

CHID Student Research Awards:

$500–$1000 awards for CHID majors or minors supporting Senior Thesis or research projects. One or two awards offered each quarter.

John and Eleanor Toews Awards:

$500–$1000 awards for CHID majors/minors or CHID-affiliated UW graduate students. Supports conference travel or graduate school-related expenses. Awarded each quarter as funding allows.

MacRae Study Abroad Scholarships:

Three $600 scholarships for UW undergrads participating in CHID-sponsored study abroad programs. One scholarship awarded each quarter.

Two upcoming CHID Study Abroad Info Sessions:

Migration, Culture, and Belonging in the Mediterranean
León, Spain

This 2026 summer B term program based in León, Spain explores migration, identity, and belonging in the Mediterranean. Students will engage with literature, music, film, and other cultural production to examine how migrants reshape national identities and how cultural expression responds to displacement and integration. Coursework is anchored by a rich selection of texts from Spain, France, and Italy and will be complemented by site visits, guest speakers, and facilitated community interaction. In addition to studying migration from academic and artistic perspectives, students will reflect on their own roles as visitors and tourists abroad.

Application Deadline: Saturday, January 31st

Info Session: Thursday, November 20, PDL C101 or Zoom (Passcode: 960971)
___
Mad Kings and Monuments: Identity, Human Rights, and Reckoning in Germany
Munich (and Berlin), Germany

With a focus on Munich, the Bavarian region of Germany, and Berlin, this program offers place-based historical exploration of social, political, racial, religious, and cultural dimensions of German nation-building before and after the Holocaust. Famous for its picturesque mountains and castles, Bavaria has also been a crucible for wrenching social change, and has fostered nationalist domestic policy and world-views ranging from “Mad” King Ludwig to the Third Reich.

Application Deadline: Saturday, January 31st

Info Session: Friday, November 21, Zoom (Meeting ID: 319 676 7735 | Passcode: 2zecsY)

It’s not too late to apply for CHID scholarships!

CHID Student Research Awards: $500-$1000 awards to support CHID majors’ or minors’ Senior Thesis or research projects. One or two awards offered each quarter.

John and Eleanor Toews Awards: $500-$1000 awards to support current CHIDmajors/minors or CHID-affiliated UW graduate students with conference travel or graduate school-related expenses. Awarded each quarter, as funding allows.

MacRae Study Abroad Scholarships: Three $600 scholarships to UW undergraduate students to participate in CHID-sponsored study abroad programs. One scholarshipawarded each quarter.

How to Apply
email a single PDF to Cynthia Anderson ([email protected]) with the following information:
Your name, student ID number, and email address.
The title and a one or two paragraph description of your Senior Thesis or research project.
Your mentor’s name and home department.
Your faculty advisor’s signature or an email confirming their support for the request.
A description of how the research funds will be used to support your project